From mint · Trisha Bhattacharya · · 1m 10s
BookMyBai founder recalls burn-mark incident
Bollywood celebrity ban on domestic workers stems from a burn-mark incident nearly a decade ago.
In brief
Bollywood celebrity ban on domestic workers stems from a burn-mark incident nearly a decade ago. BookMyBai banned Bollywood celebrities from hiring domestic workers after a worker was burned by a celebrity's iron. Originally reported by mint.
Burn mark incident
BookMyBai co-founder Anupam Sinhal recalls a domestic worker arriving at his office with burn marks after an iron incident.
“The Bollywood celebrity decision was taken the day a worker stepped into her office and she had burn marks on her body through the clothes iron because she accidentally burnt the clothes of that particular celebrity while she was ironing her clothes”
Company response
BookMyBai restricted celebrity clients after the incident, leading to a ban on Bollywood celebrities hiring domestic workers.
“That is when we thought enough is enough and now we are not doing this anymore”
Current ban status
BookMyBai still bans direct celebrity requests but allows exceptions with trusted references.
“If a celebrity contacts us directly that she needs a domestic helper, we flat outrightly refuse that we will not be able to provide you with the service because we have a blanket ban on this”
Soni Razdan example
Soni Razdan, Alia Bhatt’s mother, can vouch for celebrities to bypass the ban.
“Soni Razdan, actor alia bhatt’s mother”
Positive examples
Alia Bhatt and Dia Mirza have shown respect to their domestic workers.
“Alia bhatt and dia mirza among those who have shown respect”
Other celebrities
Farah Khan, Rohit Sharma, and Sherlyn Chopra also treat domestic workers with consideration.
“Farah khan, casting director shanoo sharma, cricketer rohit sharma, sherlyn chopra and actor tina datta”
Alia Bhatt's gesture
Alia Bhatt gave ₹50 lakh to a cook for buying a house in Virar.
“Bhatt had given rupees 50 lakh to a cook placed through the company, asking him to use the money to buy a house”
Less severe issues
Wealthy employers sometimes expect domestic workers to stay awake until 4 am during parties.
“Domestic workers being expected to remain awake until 4 am during parties”
Post-pandemic changes
Employer attitudes improved after lockdowns due to shared household responsibilities.
“Employer behaviour had improved considerably since the covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns”
The bottom line
BookMyBai banned Bollywood celebrities from hiring domestic workers after a worker was burned by a celebrity's iron.
